What have Kentucky players seen from Zvonimir Ivisic? ‘Whoa. Z got that in his game?’
Sitting behind a desk in the Kentucky basketball offices back in the fall, Orlando Antigua went up and down the Wildcats’ 2023-24 roster, talking about his expectations for the upcoming season and touching on his observations regarding several of the team’s players.
At the mention of Zvonimir Ivisic, his eyes widened, and so did his smile.
“He’s athletic. So when he goes up and gets a lob, he’s going way up there to go get it. When he’s shooting 3s, his hands are there,” the 6-foot-7 assistant coach said, stretching his arms up over his head. “And it’s comfortable.”
Antigua kept those arms up in the air as he continued talking, shifting the topic from Ivisic’s offense to his defense, growing more excited with every word.
“And when you’re going in to shoot a layup, and you got the guy from the car dealership?”
Here, Antigua started to shake his arms wildly, mimicking the inflatable stick men that shimmy around outside of businesses looking to draw the attention of passersby. And the UK coach bellowed with laughter. “He’s long.”
That he is. And his college basketball debut was a long time coming.
On Saturday, just hours before Kentucky’s 105-96 victory over Georgia, the 7-foot-2 freshman from Croatia announced to the world that — after months of waiting and worrying over his future — the NCAA had finally cleared him to play college basketball for the Wildcats.
His debut for UK was a memorable one. Ivisic hit four long jumpers — all but one from 3-point range — and dazzled elsewhere on the court in his first few minutes as a Wildcat, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, three blocks and two steals.
Kentucky fans who have been longing to see him play finally got a glimpse of what he can do. Ivisic’s coaches and teammates have been watching him do his thing for months. Illness and conditioning issues have limited Ivisic’s practice time — primarily in those weeks immediately following his Oct. 12 arrival in the United States — but when the 20-year-old has been on the basketball court, he’s apparently been quite the sight.
“He can do a little bit of everything,” said fellow freshman Justin Edwards, who referenced John Calipari’s standard five-minute shooting drill to illustrate his point. The goal of that exercise is to shoot (and make) as many 3-pointers as possible in a five-minute period. Ivisic didn’t totally understand the assignment.
“He did this sidestep, stepback 3. And made it. All net,” Edwards said. “I’m like, ‘That’s crazy.’ For him to be 7-2 and be able to move like that? Like, wow.”
Pretty much everybody on the team had a story, an instance here or there that made them stop and wonder.
“Pssh,” blurted out fifth-year player Antonio Reeves at the mention of Ivisic’s name. “We were in practice one day. Z was at the top of the perimeter. And he just did an in-and-out crossover into a spin move. And I’d never seen that coming from a 7-foot guy. I’m like, ‘Whoa. Z got that in his game?’ So he got fouled and he went to the line. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna be really good this year. We’re gonna be that.’ So, yeah.”
Of course, the Cats have gone halfway through this season without the services of Ivisic, who remained in NCAA limbo — due to questions regarding his status as a professional player in Europe — until Saturday’s announcement that he is indeed eligible. And UK has been pretty good without him, going into this week with the No. 8 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll.
Ivisic is one of three 7-footers on this Kentucky team, joining 7-0 sophomore Ugonna Onyenso and 7-1 freshman Aaron Bradshaw, who both missed the start of the season with foot injuries but made their debuts last month, emerging as impact contributors in the weeks since.
In that preseason interview with the Herald-Leader, Antigua noted that Ivisic and Bradshaw were similarly suited to play within the high-octane offense that UK started showing off once the games began.
“His mobility, for a guy his size. His skill set. His ability to shoot the ball. His ability to pass the ball,” Antigua said of Ivisic. “You see this 7-2 guy, but you don’t realize — you think he’s thin, but he’s 240. It’s not like he’s a stick. Understanding that we have to help him play lower. At times, play slower. He’s another guy that can challenge the shot above the rim. He can go block shots and protect the rim. Rebound above the rim.
“His progression in practice has been something that — as he starts to get in great shape, in game shape, coming along — you get excited about that, too.”
Back to those practice stories.
“The other day in practice he was just messing around and jumped up and hit his ear off the backboard,” said fifth-year player Tre Mitchell. “And I was just like, ‘What?’ He brings an unbelievable length. And I think it’s going to help everybody on the court, because now when you’re attacking that defense, you have to adjust when you’re in the area. You have to adjust the way you’re shooting the ball, just to get it over him.”
With UK’s three 7-footers sidelined, Mitchell — listed at 6-9 — started the season as the team’s primary center, emerging as a quarterback of sorts for the offense, often playing on the perimeter.
“And, offensively, he can do everything,” Mitchell continued. “Similar to the positions that I’ve been in — he’s going to be able to be up there with the ball making those decisions and taking big dudes off the dribble. … He just brings a whole other component to us.”
But, wait — he hit his ear on the backboard?
“That’s a first for me,” Mitchell said, recalling that particular moment.
More recently, Mitchell was on the wrong end of one of Ivisic’s amazing plays. On his weekly radio show, Calipari thought back on that one with glee.
“The other day, we’re playing one-on-one,” the UK coach said, setting the scene. “… Tre goes and gets it, does his little spin and then goes in to score. And Z just like,” — Calipari stops to make a comical sound effect with his voice — “blocks it. And he looks at me, and he says, ‘I forgot how long he is.’ So, we’ll see. Like I said, it’s been a great opportunity for Aaron and Ugo. But I really believe he’ll get his chance. And it should be fun, when he does.”
It was certainly fun for UK supporters Saturday night. And that fun is just beginning.
Going into his debut, Ivisic was positioned at No. 70 on ESPN’s latest rankings of the top 2024 NBA draft prospects, though more performances like the one against Georgia will likely raise his stature on such lists. Whatever happens next, the expectation has always been that Ivisic would spend just one season at Kentucky before jumping fully into his professional career.
For now, he’s heading into a situation with little pressure to emerge as an immediate star, one more intriguing player on a roster filled with talent.
“He’s such a unique player,” UK assistant coach Chuck Martin said. “He’s 7-2 and can run. But he’s also — a lot like Aaron — skilled enough to shoot the 3. Skilled enough to put the ball on the floor. He’s just unique in that sense. You don’t see too many human beings on the planet, at his size, that can do the things that he does on the perimeter. So, you know, when you see him do those things in practice, you get excited. Because you can see the potential of what he can be.”
Next game
Kentucky at South Carolina
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 14-3 (4-1 SEC), South Carolina 15-3 (3-2)
Series: Kentucky leads 54-14
Last meeting: South Carolina won 71-68 on Jan. 10, 2023, in Lexington
This story was originally published January 21, 2024 at 6:00 PM.
